Growing up means…

Growing up means returning somewhere familiar for vacation.

It’s no secret that growing up is hard. But if you weren’t aware, consider this a thankless spoiler. 

One incredibly rude awakening of being a grown up, and working full time, is becoming cognizant that vacation days are limited. A quick Google search will inform you that the average number of paid time off (PTO) days in the US is 10. 

Just 10 days of freedom within 365 during the year. 

While this doesn’t include sick time or paid holidays (though my first two jobs out of college didn’t offer me either of those) 10 days is simply not enough.

Plus when you factor in mandatory family time and visits over the holidays, we’re left with even less time to check things off the bucket list. With that subtraction we have five days— and let's agree that five days truly isn’t enough time to vacation in South Africa. But four can get you a nice time in Portland, Oregon.

So that’s what I chose.

My boyfriend and I recently spent our precious PTO returning to the Pacific Northwest, an hour away from where we met and attended college just two years ago.

This was the best choice we could have made.

Yes, it is a familiar city, but who doesn’t love playing tourist? And yes, it even rained for an entire day in late June, but you can’t always count on clear skies in Hawaii, either!

What really made it worth the trip were the amazing friends that took us in.

It truly is a joy and a privilege to have connections strong enough to stand the test of time. A friend that, for the last six years, has always lived a state away, welcomed us home with open arms. Her boyfriend, our tour guide to the best coffee shops. Their cats, bipolar in size and personality, enough to fill the void of our pets miles away at home. 

Four days not stressed about commuting through San Diego traffic. Four days to forget that coffee costs less if you make it at home. Four days to remember why you stayed connected with people that live so far away. Four days to be a new you; or perhaps a previous PNW you. 

Vacation time isn’t everything. In fact, it’s nothing without the time you dedicate in between. 

There’s work to be done on yourself and your friendships in order to take a trip as simple and as short as a two and a half hour flight to a familiar town, to understand it’s one hundred percent worth spending a couple of your sacred PTO days on. 

That’s when you know you’re all grown up; or at least further along on your way.